Christmas Memories
by scifiromance
Summary: Chakotay takes it upon himself to introduce Seven to the Christmas spirit, with the help of one of Tom's holodeck programmes... A festive C/7 fic for Christmas 2012! :) Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Here's a festive C/7 fic for you! It's a day late I know, but I thought I could get away with it on Boxing Day at least. Thanks so much to Valkara and NikkiB1973, whose cute ideas combined to help me come up with this fic. For the sake of themed fluff, let's say that Christmas fell between the episodes "Natural Law" and "Homestead". Please enjoy! :)**

The competing scents of fir trees, mulled wine and cranberry assaulted Seven's nose as she stepped into Astrometrics, so strong that she couldn't contain a load sneeze even as she looked around her assigned domain in amazement. Gold tinsel trimmed every console, firmly secured with barely visible tape and crimson coloured candles were carefully balanced on every flat surface, the fine smoke that wisped up from each little flame obviously the source of the combating fragrances in the room. There was even what was known as a 'Christmas wreath', a woven ring of wood then covered with winter flowers from Earth and plastic representations of fruit, hanging proudly over her viewscreen, presumably because the automation of the door prevented it from being placed where tradition dictated. An exasperated sigh left Seven's lips even as she felt humour tempting her lips upwards. It was her own fault, she _had_ been thoughtless even to give Neelix and Naomi permission to match Astrometrics to the festive décor of the rest of Voyager if they so wished, but she hadn't really expected them to go this far. In fact, to her, admittedly inexperienced, eyes it appeared they had decorated this room with _particular_ exuberance…

She shrugged her shoulders, concluding that it would negatively affect the efficiency of her shift if she spent time removing all of these festive embellishments. Therefore, she limited herself to merely blowing out all the candles, although the stubborn puffs of smoke released as she did so told her that she was probably going to be haunted by the cloying smells for the rest of the day, if not the whole week. She noticed a strange object placed on her console as she moved over to finally start her work. It was a hollow tube of some sort, covered in shiny red and green paper which was tied off by ribbon at either end, effectively closing off the tube and whatever it was which was rattling around inside it. She peered at it in bemusement for a brief second, something about it toying with a long forgotten memory, trying to tease it out, but she hastily set it aside anyway. More Christmas irrelevance no doubt.

She had been working peacefully for almost an hour, only the occasional beeping of an alerted console and the steady rhythm of her own breathing penetrating the silence, when the soft hiss of the door directly behind her made her jump and spin around sharply, suspicious of Neelix's return with more 'necessary' decorations. Embarrassment closed her throat, her cheeks flaming more fiercely than those candles ever had, when she saw that it was Commander Chakotay who'd stepped inside. He was looking directly at her, although she could tell from the slight crease of confusion in his strong brows and the gently surprised smile on his lips that he'd noted the unorthodox state of Voyager's Astrometrics lab. She had to swallow hard to loosen her throat enough to speak, "Is there something I can do for you Commander?" The forced words came out much harsher than she'd intended and she unconsciously grimaced as he gave a start.

"I came for your report on the nebula we skirted around this morning…" Chakotay began seriously before running a sheepish hand through his hair as he was met with her piercing blue eyes, "But really, I have to ask. Why is it like Santa's grotto in here Seven?"

Seven wordlessly handed him the PADD which contained the requested report before shakily answering. "I do not know what a 'Santa's grotto' is exactly Commander, but I presume you are referring to the…unanticipated changes to this room."

Chakotay chuckled to himself softly. He shouldn't have used such an opaque reference with her, he didn't think he could give her a coherent explanation, it sounded incomprehensible now in his own mind let alone to Seven's ears. She'd handled her confusion better than he had though. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean." He agreed.

Seven herself looked around the room uncertainly. "It was like this when I arrived here earlier today Commander. I am…unsure as to how this décor came to pass." She admitted quietly.

Chakotay felt his chest tighten as he watched her gaze dip away from his, abruptly realising that she was ashamed as well as embarrassed and impulsively took hold of her elbow to encourage her to look at him again. "It doesn't matter Seven, not at all, don't worry about it okay?" He felt his breath catch in his throat as he felt her study his face as he said his reassurances. "I'm sure whoever did this didn't intend to upset you…" He added intuitively, his voice dropping to a near whisper as he tread carefully.

Surprise flickered quickly over Seven's face, as if she hadn't expected him to consider her feelings. "I was somewhat shocked at first..." She conceded, "…but the suspects I have in mind would only do this for kindly reasons." Chakotay felt her hand move over his, the one which still held her elbow, and then loosen his grip before slowly dropping her arm back to her side. He couldn't be sure whether she intentionally squeezed his fingers as she did so but his heart skipped a beat anyway.

"Who are your suspects?" He asked quickly, stepping back from her reluctantly as he composed himself.

He was glad to see Seven's eyes take on that wry glint which told him she'd relaxed her guard a little. "Perhaps 'suspects' is the wrong word, I believe I inadvertently gave them permission after all." Her head lowered, although this time it was an attempt to hide her shy smile. "When Neelix and Naomi visited in their capacity as the unofficial 'Christmas Celebration Committee', they were very unsettled by the fact that Astrometrics would be incompatible with the arrangements they had made for the rest of the ship. I ultimately agreed that they could decorate this lab as much as they wish…" She glanced around the opulent room again then back at Chakotay, "…within reason."

Chakotay heard a tentative laugh slip past her deadpan tone and started to laugh himself as he assessed the room again, then met her eyes teasingly, "If you really think about it Seven, to Neelix at least all this would be within reason."

Seven responded with her habitual precise nod, though she could feel her smile widening, encouraged by his laughter. "I see your point; obviously I did not fully consider the consequences of my agreement."

"I wouldn't worry about it Seven, Neelix has learned ways to talk all of us into anything and as for Naomi, it's no secret she can wrap whoever she wants around her finger." His voice lowered, taking on a conspiratorial air, "Have you seen the Bridge yet today?"

Seven shook her head, her metallic and blonde brows knitting together in concern at his suddenly serious tone. "No, why?"

"Well, when I was there this morning it was already strung up with fairy lights and I think the consoles will have had the tinsel treatment by now considering I saw Naomi go into the Captain's Ready Room with handfuls of the stuff." Chakotay explained with an amused grin, "So like I told you, don't worry about it. Even the Captain isn't immune."

"Naomi does not get a chance to be properly childish often, and the crew do not often have the opportunity to celebrate traditions either." Seven commented thoughtfully, flushing a little as she caught Chakotay's surprised glance her way. "I cannot resent them for taking advantage of our currently quiet situation, when life on Voyager is often so fraught."

Chakotay tensed as he heard the truth in her words, life in the Delta Quadrant wasn't well suited to a time of 'peace and goodwill', not in this crew's experience anyway… A sigh, more tellingly heavy than he'd intended, left him as he straightened. "I agree…" He muttered, quickly giving her a small but reassuring smile as she peered at him in concern, obviously worried that her words had offended him. That sign of empathy, something he'd been seeing from her with increasing regularity lately and which he hoped he'd been showing her too, spurred him on to brooch what had really brought him here. "Since you've seen the Christmas spirit at work here lately, I'm guessing you know about Tom's new project on the holodeck?"

Seven felt her teeth brush her bottom lip nervously, but resisted the urge to bite down. She wasn't sure why the Commander was lingering with apparently no other reason than to talk with her, it wasn't that she found him unpleasant to talk to, quite the opposite, but it left her feeling…confused nonetheless. "Yes, he's working to perfect an interactive Christmas on the holodecks. It appears to be quite ambitious; he's building it to cover both holodecks. He needed my assistance to help ensure that the size of the programme does not create any problems like when he extended the Fair Haven programme."

"You've seen it then?" Chakotay questioned, a little too eagerly, "What did you think?"

Seven had turned back to her console to reassure herself, but her hands still felt damp even when resting on the familiar cool metal. "It was…intriguing." She answered cautiously, "More so than his other programmes I suppose…" She paused as she heard his footsteps bring him closer to her again, her skin burning with an odd heat as his arm accidently touched hers, "The majority of it was unfamiliar to me, despite the reading the Doctor advised me to do on the subject." She felt herself shiver as she stared down at the console and her left hand resting on it, her Borg past erupting from the pale skin. "I don't recall the Christmases from my early childhood so I do not have personal experience to call from."

Chakotay felt a lump rise in his throat and for a few seconds couldn't quite swallow it. He'd thought he would've lost his sense of shock when Seven revealed such things, he knew more about the all-consuming nature of the Collective after all and had known her for four years already, but he knew it would be wrong to desensitise himself to the tragedies of Seven's life completely, even as he tried to help her move past it, that wouldn't be human. "You don't remember anything about Christmas?"

"No." Seven replied simply and then stiffened, fearing his pity. "The Doctor has assured me that my parents probably engaged in the Christmas rituals, considering their Northern European heritage…" She trailed off for a moment before shaking her head slightly, "However, the Collective would consider such memories irrelevant, a waste." She tilted her head to give Chakotay a sidelong glance, feeling her throat constrict as she saw not simple pity in his eyes but genuine pain. "What about you Commander?" she asked softly, "I did not think your people practised Christmas, why do you know so much…" She cut herself off as his lips twisted wryly, thinking she'd been impertinent.

"Oh, technically it's _not _celebrated by my people, but my mother always had a soft spot for it. You see, unlike my father she was raised on Earth rather than our tribe's outpost on Dorvan V, so she was brought up with Christmas along with our ancient traditions. It was eye-opening I came to the Academy and saw Christmas in full swing for the first time, honestly I'm as nostalgic for it as the rest of the crew."

Seven bowed her head, unsure of what to say in reply. "I am sorry that you will spend another year away from your home Commander."

Chakotay reached over and gave her cybernetic hand an affectionate squeeze, fighting the urge to run his fingers over the smooth metal. "I came to terms with that a long time ago Seven. I'm going to go to the holodecks tonight and remember good times that's all." He turned his face more certainly towards hers, "I'd like you to come with me Seven." He asked with soft sincerity.

"I…" Seven started, her mind going numb, "I would like that…" She admitted, feeling her blush intensify as she realised he was still holding her hand, "But I would not know what do to and the crew…the crew might feel uncomfortable with me there…"

"Why would you think that?" Chakotay demanded, though his voice was still low, his breath blowing on her cheek. "Seven, there's no reason why anyone would feel that way, and what others might think shouldn't affect your decision. I'm asking if you want to go for yourself."

Seven gazed up at him uncertainly, "And you want to accompany me?"

Her disbelieving tone made Chakotay's heart hurt. "Yes." He confirmed firmly, "I'd like your company, I always do."

Seven stepped away from the console so that she could hide her shaking hands behind her back. "If that is what you truly wish Commander, then of course I will accompany you."

He beamed at her, "Great! I'll meet you outside Holodeck 2 at 1900 hours."

"It's a date then Commander." Seven murmured, almost choking in mortification when she remembered the connotations behind that particular phrase.

To her relief, and surprise, Chakotay's smile didn't waver, inexplicably widening. There was even a teasing glint in his chocolate eyes when he replied, "Seven, if you're really agreeing then call me Chakotay."

"Okay…Chakotay." Seven agreed, sounding the syllables of his name out tentatively.

Chakotay gave a pleased nod in reply, then remembered something as he turned to leave. "Oh, Tom warned everyone to dress warmly, apparently the programme is set at a realistic winter temperature."

"I will replicate something appropriate." Seven assured him quickly.

"Good, I'll see you at 1900 hours then…" Chakotay told her, pausing as he felt something hanging over the door threshold brush the top of his head.

"What's that?" Seven queried innocently as she saw him freeze.

"It's mistletoe…" Chakotay forced out hoarsely, not sure that this time and place was the right moment to explain _that _tradition.

Seven saw that his tanned skin had tinged a definite shade of red and tensed. "Does it signify something?"

"Just a…minor tradition. Never mind it right now, we might come across some tonight and I'll explain then." Chakotay rambled nervously, "I'll see you tonight."

"Yes you will." Seven murmured, peering up the mistletoe curiously after he took his leave.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I hope this is at least a promising start, I'll finish this before the end of the year even though I'm not sure yet how many chapters it'll end up having. Merry (slightly belated) Christmas everyone! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Happy New Year everyone! I know I'm little late with this again, but it is the festive season so there's a lot on. Thank you so much for all the support last year, please stick with me in 2013! Here's the final chapter of this little Christmas fic, I hope you all enjoy. By the way, a few people were asking about Seven's failsafe, a good point, but let's presume for the sake of romantic fluff that's she's already got rid of it in this fic. **

1907 hours. Seven felt her jaw clench as the rational, detached part of her mind, still of course heavily influenced by the strict set of priorities she'd abided by within the Collective which arbitrarily dismissed all other concerns as irrelevant, mercilessly reminded her of the time without respite. Somehow, the more she decided _not_ to dwell on Chakotay's lateness the more the fact bothered her. Perhaps he has reconsidered and will cancel as soon as he remembers what he agreed to… Her gloved hand reached tetchily for her comm. badge, pinned to the lapel of the thick wool coat she'd replicated, as her expectations of receiving a hasty, politely apologetic cancellation intensified.

Unconsciously, she crossed her arms over her chest as she waited near the doors of Holodeck 1, hopefully far enough away to appear relatively inconspicuous despite her unusual attire. She didn't feel capable of giving any passing curious crewmate a satisfactory explanation of her presence here, not while she was still so uncertain herself anyway. She glanced down and noticed with irritation that one of her feet was tapping impatiently on the floor, immediately bringing the pointless human habit to a halt. Her feet _were_ beginning to feel uncomfortably hot in these boots however. Tom Paris may have chosen a temperature to suit his holographic fantasy and expected visitors to dress appropriately, but that didn't correlate to being comfortable in the carefully constructed environment of Voyager itself. She would wait two more minutes for Commander Chakotay and if he failed to appear she would return to her Cargo Bay to change clothes again and get back to work…

"Seven!" Chakotay's call from behind her made Seven jump even as she noted that his smooth voice had a distinctly more flustered edge than usual, even sounding slightly out of breath, which surprised her given her knowledge of his high level of athletic fitness. She turned quickly to face him, watching as the arm he'd extended, presumably to attract her attention, fell back to his side. She found herself regretting the lost contact as she looked up at him, his dark eyes bright with relief. "I'm glad you're still here, I'm really sorry for being late. The Captain held me up with a last minute systems review on the Bridge and then I had to go and get changed…" He trailed off, feeling sheepish and angry with himself. It was typical that on the evening he'd arranged to spend with the most punctual woman on the ship, perhaps in the Quadrant, he'd let his normally rigid duty schedule slip. Janeway had undoubtedly noticed his distraction when he'd returned from Astrometrics and had arranged that systems review just to shake him up...

Seven's placating words of reply pierced through his wandering mind. "I understand, such delays are often unavoidable." She assured him and Chakotay let himself relax a little as he saw her stoic face soften, for a moment reflecting his own relief. "I hope the systems review was satisfactory?"

"It was." Chakotay answered, "Only a few minor issues were thrown up and they can be attended to in the next few days, it seems like our break from trouble is going to hold out a little longer…" He stopped himself as he saw Seven nod seriously in agreement, as if they were in the middle of an official briefing rather than the beginning of a date. He wasn't about to let them both fall into their mutual comfort zone of work, not tonight when all he wanted was to see a few glimpses of her humanity she'd been revealing to him slowly over the past few months. "You look great by the way Seven."

Seven blinked upon hearing the easy compliment before feeling the now familiar rush of blood to her cheeks as she glanced down at herself. The burgundy velvet skirt she'd chosen that peeked out from under her long black coat wasn't as practical as the ski trousers the replicator had also offered but she wasn't as blind to what flattered her as she once had been. The knee length boots, flat but made of black suede were however pushing her bounds of practicality. "I wasn't sure what would be appropriate, I had to consult Tom Paris' programming schematics for the holograms…" She flushed again as she realised she was, in her nervous state, bombarding him with irrelevant information, "Thank you for saying so Chakotay."

Chakotay smiled at her reassuringly, as always finding her utter lack of vanity refreshing as well as endearing, but it was a double edged sword that left her completely unaware of her affect on all other men as well as himself. "Well it's true. You look better suited to Aspen or St Moritz right now, maybe I'd better go smarten myself up…" He teased.

Seven gave his winter coat and trousers, much plainer but just as warm as her own clothes, a cursory glance before surprising Chakotay by firmly taking his hand and leading him to the holodeck doors. "You are perfectly sufficient. I suggest we enter and begin."

Chakotay chuckled softly at her tactics as she dialled an access code into the holodeck's door panel. "I guess I kept you waiting long enough huh?" He replied as he leaned over her shoulder.

Seven's head involuntarily turned towards his as she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck, her own breathing juddering to a momentary halt as she registered how close her cheek now was to his lips and her mind conjured up flirtation in his comment. "Yes…" She began to answer shakily, startled to feel a certain amount of pleasure, and even anticipation, mixed in with the baffling combination of emotions she was experiencing.

"Programme Paris Alpha Eight has already been activated and is in progress." The Computer's brisk voice interrupted unceremoniously.

That intercession broke the spell instantly; the next thing Seven knew Chakotay was back at her side, at a more neutral distance though still smiling at her. "Looks like someone has already beaten us to it…"

Seven gave him a sidelong glance, "I'm still willing if you are Commander."

Her face was shy, even demure, but the, probably unconscious, purr in her voice made Chakotay's throat go painfully dry. "What did I tell you about using my rank tonight?" He eventually retorted gamely while holding out his arm for her to take as the holodeck doors slid open.

Seven stiffened, reflexively taking the comment as a real rebuke, only relaxing when he pressed her wrist lightly in reassurance, his brows creasing in concern and guilt as he peered at her. She saw that he was about to apologise and gingerly put her hand on his offered arm to stop him. "I'll remember Chakotay." She agreed promptly.

She was rewarded with a fresh grin of pleasure, "Good." He murmured softly, taking a confident step inside the holodeck, "Let's go then."

* * *

"Wow, you weren't exaggerating when you said Tom was ambitious with this programme!" Chakotay exclaimed as the holodeck doors closed behind them and quickly disappeared from sight, in an instant the holodeck became their whole world. "It's like a scene from a Christmas card!"

"Yes…" Seven murmured in amazement as her eyes swept over the panoramic view of this created world. They were standing at the top of a mellow, rolling hill, carpeted in a snug layer of pristine snow. Directly in front of them, nestled in the hollow basin of a protective semi-circle of more snowy hills, lay a village. From her study of human vernacular, Seven guessed it could fairly be described as 'chocolate box', the selection of cheery little wooden chalets, intersected by winding cobbled streets that she could make out from this distance certainly fitted that description. An early Baroque style church, its elegant onion dome roof the only one free of snow, serenely stood tall and proud among it all, the sweet peal of its bells probably able to reach much more distant ears than theirs. "It's certainly impressive…exquisite even." She elaborated, thinking as she spoke that not even these words were sufficient. She pulled her gaze away, catching Chakotay studying her face rather than the scenery. "Beauty is certainly relevant to this simulation." She commented, surprising her companion by allowing herself a delighted, self-deprecating laugh.

Chakotay laughed too, glad as always to remember Ledosia, but a tiny part of him regretting that her moment of rapt attention on the scene was over, it was rare to see Seven so pleasantly stunned, her expressions so open and unguarded. "That's true." He replied before pointing down at the path which began almost where they stood, a precociously curving ribbon through the snow which would lead them onto the wider road which cut through the valley and would guide them into the town itself. "Do you want to go get a closer look?"

Seven looked uncertain for a moment as she stared down the thin path, it didn't look like the safest route, but she dismissed that unease as she looked towards the town and the clean, frosty blue sky of winter that stretched over it all. "Of course!" she declared, a determined glint entering her equally blue eyes before she firmly set off, Chakotay following more cautiously behind her. They were perhaps three quarters of the way down, but at the steepest dip in the hill, by the time ice caught them out. Seven barely managed to stay upright, wobbling in an ungainly manner as her boots found slick ice and Chakotay didn't face much better. Soon, rather than just touching his offered arm as she had when they'd entered, Seven had to dispense with formality and loop her arm through his entirely, hands tightly laced, just to ensure mutual balance as they padded their way down. "Perhaps…" She muttered breathlessly after a third near fall, "We should have ordered the doors to open in the village itself."

"Come on, then we would've missed out on this…" Chakotay answered, puffs of his breath forming brief cloudy halos around them, "We're almost there anyway…" He began to encourage, his coaxing abruptly cut off by a slippery bend in the path just by the road which made his legs fall out from under him, bringing Seven crashing down with him. He started laughing at the surreal nature of this situation despite himself, "Are you okay?" he forced out between crippling bouts of laughter.

"Yes…" Seven answered as she struggled to get up, blood rushing to her chilled cheeks as she slid further and ended up sprawled on top of him for her trouble. "I apologise…" A giggle of her own, rooted in embarrassment, grew louder as Chakotay continued to laugh, the hilarity intensifying as they struggled to disentangle themselves.

"Hey!" A familiar voice hollered out to them from nearby, "I was going to ask if you two needed help, but it looks like you're having too much fun to care!"

Chakotay looked up from his position almost flat out on the ground to see Tom standing at the edge of the road, watching them with eyebrows arched high in amusement and surprise. More startling than Tom's presence here was his mode of transportation, he'd climbed down from a horse drawn cart calmly guided by a holographic driver. "Actually, I think we could use a _little_ help!" He called back sarcastically.

"Right, okay, okay…" Tom groaned dramatically, trooping towards the two of them and quickly helping them upright again. "You two heading into the village?"

Chakotay stiffened defensively despite himself as he caught Tom's not too subtle glances of curiosity between himself and Seven. "Yeah, that's what we were planning."

"Then feel free to hitch a ride." Tom told them warmly, gesturing towards the horse and cart, "B'Elanna and I are on the way back there now."

"B'Elanna?" Seven echoed doubtfully, taking it back when she saw B'Elanna watching them from inside the cart, lounging on bales of hay and occasionally shooting her husband indulgent, but mildly wry, looks.

"Yeah, I finally got her to join the fun!" Tom laughed as he swung himself up onto the cart to sit beside the driver. Before Seven could mentally debate how best to climb into this antiquated contraption, Chakotay had already given her a gentle boost up and got in behind her.

She took a handful of hay from the bale she was sitting on, staring at it confusion. "What is the purpose of this? Holographic animals do not require sustenance."

"What we're doing is a hayride, it used to be a tradition in North American farming communities apparently." B'Elanna answered, "The hay just serves as seats for us."

Seven's brows furrowed questioningly, "Wouldn't it have been more effective to just design this cart with appropriate seating?"

B'Elanna chuckled, turning to face her husband, "See, I told you that would've been better!"

"Women just have no sense of nostalgia…" Tom grumbled jokingly.

"Maybe just not your kind Tom." Chakotay replied with a shake of his head.

Seven sighed as she found a comfortable spot on the wagon, peering at B'Elanna questioningly, her very near term pregnancy especially obvious under her tightly buttoned coat. "I would not have thought to see you here, I believed your Klingon heritage left you with a low cold tolerance."

B'Elanna smiled, having gradually learned to interpret Seven's awkward speech and heard her words as the expression of concern in which it was meant. "You're right, normally I can't stand being cold, but this has been Tom's project for the last month and a half, I had to see it. I'm feeling fine right now, but he's promised me a tropical programme once Christmas is over."

"Good idea." Chakotay said warmly as they pulled into the village, looking around to see groups of familiar faces among the cheerily festive holographic locals. "It looks like this place is really popular Tom."

Tom grinned, "Yeah, everyone wants a taste of Christmas, even Tuvok was here to do a 'security check' of some sort." He chuckled to himself before his handsome face took on a more serious note, "I expected the Captain to make at least one appearance, considering how much she seems to like Fair Haven, but she hasn't shown up yet."

"She probably won't." Chakotay said firmly, "You know what she's like, the only Earth she really wants any of us to think of is the real one."

The other three considered this before Seven pointed out quietly, "We won't see Earth for a long time on our current route without intervention. If we wait, the crew won't get to enjoy many festivities at all."

"My thoughts exactly." Tom agreed resolutely, "Our lives are here right now." He smiled at B'Elanna, his gaze lingering on her baby bump before he changed the subject completely and turned to Chakotay, "We're almost at the skating rink, do you and Seven want dropped off?"

"A skating rink?" Chakotay repeated before seeing the evidence for himself, the cart had drawn up at the entrance of a small open air skating rink, a Christmas tree positioned in the centre of the perfectly circular frozen rink. "I don't know…" He glanced at Seven, "Do you want to try it Seven?"

Seven eyed the smooth blue-white ice and then watched the people spinning happily around it on seemingly impossibly slim blades. "I suppose it would be a new experience…" She responded warily.

"Great!" Tom interrupted as he hopped down from the cart and helped B'Elanna join him. "I think we're ready to try out one of the cafés, so we'll see you later."

"Okay…" Chakotay and Seven both agreed, obediently getting down from the cart but at first skirting around the rink. Chakotay pointed out a small street vendor, "Do you want some mulled wine to warm you up?" he asked her.

Seven tensed, "Alcohol is inadvisable for me Chakotay, you know that better than most, you saw me at Halloween last year."

Chakotay felt guilty for treading on a nerve he'd known was there. "That wasn't your fault Seven, you didn't _ask _to get your drinks spiked. Mulled wine isn't nearly as alcoholic as vodka anyway, I think you'd be fine, but we can just get to skating if you want."

Seven was already selecting a pair of skates from a staff member and slipping off her boots. "Let's begin."

"Right, okay." Chakotay submitted with more than a little trepidation, he had only went ice-skating once in his life and hadn't exactly been a natural at it, in fact quite the opposite, but maybe this time would be different…

Seven was already on the ice, albeit tightly gripping the low wall which edged the rink, by the time he was ready to join her. She was watching the other skaters carefully, he could imagine her mentally compiling her own instruction manual as she did so. "I presume we have to let go." She reminded him as she pushed off and skated forward half a metre or so, arms only slightly extended for balance.

"Yeah, I suppose we do." Chakotay muttered, releasing his hold on the wall and immediately feeling his knees buckle. Grimacing intently, he managed to slowly shuffle towards her. Seeing his expression, Seven, who had already grasped the basic knack of it, kindly took his arm as he had taken hers on the path earlier and began to lead him around.

"I have a confession to make Seven." He admitted a few difficult and strenuous moments later.

"What would that be?" Seven queried as she gently guided him through a left turn.

"I've only ever been skating once about 20 years ago and I was terrible at it then, I've gotten worse."

"I did not think you would have much more experience than me." Seven assured him calmly, utterly unconcerned, "After all, your homeworld is sub-tropical in its entirety, an ice-rink would be a strange thing to have there."

Chakotay smiled at her, "You're better at thinking up excuses for me than I am Seven…" He was stopped by a group of Engineering personnel, most as inept on the rink as he was, almost crashing into them. The near collision was enough to make Chakotay's already precarious sense of balance fail altogether and he landed on his backside with a thump. He was relieved to find that Seven, after a tiny wobble had remained standing.

"Whoa, are you okay Chakotay?" Harry Kim asked in concern, suddenly moving towards them with a few expert strokes of his blades on the ice. "That must've hurt…"

"Yeah…" Chakotay admitted as he saw Seven's already worried expression deepen, "But I'm okay, really."

"That's good, I remember falls like that." Harry replied, although to Chakotay's eyes the younger man looked totally at ease on the ice, he'd just seen him do some pretty clever moves before the fall.

"You are familiar with ice-skating Ensign?" Seven asked Harry in surprise as he moved forward to help her pull an embarrassed Chakotay to his feet.

"Oh yeah." Harry confirmed in a modest tone, "There's a big rink in San Francisco, my parents used to take me most weekends, my mom was a junior skating champion."

"Impressive." Seven commented warmly.

Harry, as always, was particularly bashful around Seven, something Chakotay was no longer finding quite so amusing. "I guess…" He conceded before brightening as an idea struck him, "This must be your first time right Seven? I can show you how to do some moves if you like."

Chakotay was startled when jealousy didn't just flare but exploded inside him. A shamefully large part of him wanted to tell Harry in no uncertain terms to back off, but he reined the urge in as Seven looked between the two of them uncertainly. Knowing Harry it would be innocent, he hadn't made more than a couple of moves in four years after all… The thought actually infused him with paranoia rather than calming him, but fought to be civil and unaffected, clearing his throat, "You go ahead Seven, go and learn some more. I need a break anyway."

Seven fought to stop her face from falling, reading into his words that he needed a break from _her_. "If you are certain." She answered stiffly, her gaze lingering on him longer than she should have allowed before moving swiftly over to Harry, "If you are willing Ensign, I'd be grateful for your assistance."

"Great!" Harry agreed happily, unable to believe his luck as Seven followed slowly behind him to the centre of the rink.

Taking a deep breath to try and regain his self control, Chakotay limped back to the entrance of the rink before retrieving his skates and finding a bench to mope on. He tried not to seek out Seven and soon hadn't seen her for several minutes, then the brush of a hand against his shoulder made him look up and he was startled to see Seven standing beside him, wearing her boots again, no skates to be seen. "Seven, I thought you were…"

"I only stayed with Ensign Kim for five minutes to have him show me techniques for improving balance, he says they will help you." Seven explained, biting her lip when he merely stared at her in reply. "I realise you may be tiring of my company, but if that's the case I would prefer that we just leave…"

Chakotay had been struck dumb, but her latter sentence quickly restored her speech, "I'm what?" he asked blankly before shaking his head rigorously, "No, that's _not _how I feel _at all_." He assured her firmly, seizing her hand when she looked at him in confusion, "I saw that the mulled wine stand also sells hot chocolate, why don't we go get some?" he suggested gently.

Relief passed rapidly over Seven's face before she smiled at him shyly. "That would be acceptable."

* * *

Happy and certain once again, Chakotay wasted no time taking her back to the stall and getting two particularly large mugs topped with cream and marshmallows. Normally, Seven would've rejected such a beverage outright as lacking nutritional properties, but right now as crystal snowflakes began to fall with increasing regularity, melting on her face like light kisses from cool lips, she took hers gratefully and drank a long sip, guiltily aware of how good it tasted.

"It's good, right?" Chakotay said slyly, somehow able to read her mind.

"Yes." Seven admitted reluctantly, tugging off her gloves to warm her hands on the mug.

"Why don't we walk around a little? We've hardly seen the village and the park seems to be decorated really nicely."

Seven nodded and fell into step with him as they started the short walk to the park gates. She held her now nearly empty mug in one hand and had at some point slipped the other into Chakotay's, although she couldn't recall when. "The park is lovely…" She breathed as she took in the trees strung with fairy lights.

"I'd better get rid of these mugs before we go in…" Chakotay started to say, beginning to turn away from her.

"Wait…" Seven gasped out, feeling a rush of powerful emotion run through her suddenly. Impulsively she gripped his elbow and turned him back towards her, sealing the deal by leaning up and planting a kiss on his lips. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it wasn't it rush of heat she experienced as he eagerly responded, his surprise not stopping him even for a millisecond. That startled her into breaking it off, though his muscular arm curled around her waist stopped her from moving back more than a few centimetres from his face. She was filled with a perhaps irrational dread considering his physical reaction, not quite brave enough to meet his eyes. He must've known that, for the next thing she knew the gentle brush of his fingers had pushed her chin up and she caught a glimpse of his darkened, sparkling eyes before he'd pressed his lips to hers in a kiss rapidly deeper than anything she'd dared attempt. On some instinct, her arms had wrapped around his neck, one hand cupping his face, long before they had to part for air.

Chakotay stared down at her wordlessly for a second or two, his quickened breath visible in the cold air, before something made him glance up and notice the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the park gate arching over their heads. "And I thought you didn't know about that tradition…" He chuckled breathlessly as he leaned his forehead down onto hers.

Seven blushed but no longer felt so ashamed of the sensation. "I researched mistletoe after you left this afternoon, your reaction intrigued me." She admitted, swallowing, "I…I thought it might be…reasonable to proceed with the tradition now…"

He was so close she could feel his lips curving into a smile against hers. "Oh, it was so much better than reasonable…" He assured her huskily, "It was _perfect_." He concluded as he kissed her again.

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D Happy New Year again! :)**


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